State Grants Awarded to Help Support Arts in the Valley

The Ohio Arts Council has awarded $21.8 million in grants to Ohio artists and organizations through 907 grants, including a bunch in the Mahoning Valley.

The OAC approved the grants at its meeting this week to support Ohio arts, artists and cultural organizations, students, educators and public arts programming. 

The awards mark the largest amount of grant dollars in the agency’s history, made possible through the state operating budget for 2024-2025, which allocated $51.1 million to the OAC.

There are eight different categories in which grants are separated to best suit the needs and bolster creativity of Ohio art and artists. Three of these categories have received significant amounts of funding: Sustainability, ArtSTART and ArtsNEXT.

According to the OAC, Sustainability awards support the state’s arts and cultural ecosystem, providing stable and consistent funding to organizations regardless of budget size. There were 452 Sustainability grants totaling $16.2 million, about $180,000 for the Mahoning Valley area.

ArtSTART awards provide flexible and accessible funding to help organizations complete short-term projects for a variety of goals and objectives. There were 146 ArtSTART grants totalling $533,526, with about $16,000 going to the Mahoning Valley.

ArtsNEXT provides competitive funding for innovative and experimental projects for Ohio arts and artists. There were 78 grants totaling $1,086,261.

The TeachArtsOhio award brings schools and community organizations together with teaching artists to share engaging, personal, high-quality arts learning experiences. There were 93 grants totaling $2,353,750. Nearly $40,000 went to Youngstown City Schools.

Donna Collins, the executive director for OAC, said the funding ensures that Ohio’s arts and cultural sector are supported. 

“[The OAC] continues to work together for a full recovery of in-person arts programming, an expansion of arts education to combat pandemic-related learning loss and restoration and growth of career opportunities for arts professionals,” she said.

Here are the local recipients, grant amounts and type of grants:

MAHONING COUNTY

• Ballet Western Reserve, Youngstown, $14,471, Sustainability.
• Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, $122,908, Sustainability.
• Chaney Middle School, Youngstown, $4,900, TeachArtsOhio.
• East Middle School, Youngstown, $4,900, TeachArtsOhio.
• Etruscan Press, Youngstown, $3,933, Sustainability.
• Harding Elementary School, Youngstown, $4,200, TeachArtsOhio.
• Henry H. Stambaugh Auditorium Association, Youngstown, $5,182, Arts Partnership.
• Kirkmere Elementary School, Youngstown, $4,200, TeachArtsOhio.
• Lit Youngstown, Youngstown, $7,346, Sustainability.
• Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School, Youngstown, $4,200, TeachArtsOhio.
• McDonough Museum of Art, Youngstown, $11,292, Sustainability.
• Opera Western Reserve, Youngstown, $8,176, Sustainability.
• Paul C. Bunn Elementary School, Youngstown, $4,200, TeachArtsOhio.
• Rayen Early College Middle School, Youngstown, $4,900, TeachArtsOhio.
• Stambaugh Chorus, Youngstown, $4,525, Sustainability.
• Students Motivated by the Arts, Youngstown, $15,226, Arts Partnership.
• Taft Elementary School, Youngstown, $4,200, TeachArtsOhio.
• Volney Rogers Elementary School, Youngstown, $4,200, TeachArtsOhio.

TRUMBULL COUNTY

• Brite Energy Innovators, Warren, $4,444, ArtSTART.
• Foundation Medici, Warren, $3,526, ArtSTART
• Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership, Warren, $1,134, Sustainability.
• Warren Symphony Society, Warren, $3,425, ArtSTART.

COLUMBIANA COUNTY

• Lepper Library, Lisbon, $3,558, ArtSTART.
• Stage Left Players, Lisbon, $6,230, Sustainability.
• Salem Chamber of Commerce, Salem, $1,000, ArtSTART.

Pictured at top: The Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.